Essie – Pure Pearlfection January 31, 2012
Posted by Katie in Essie, Katie, Layering.Tags: 2010, 2011, Essie, luxeffects, resort, shimmer, Topcoat
12 comments
When I first saw Essie’s Luxeffects I have to admit I really wasn’t all that impressed, but after seeing swatches I decided I had to have two: Pure Pearlfection and As Gold as it Gets.
I decided to layer Pure Pearlfection over two coats of Splash of Grenadine (From the 2010 Resort Collection that also included Lapis of Luxury and Turquoise and Caicos). I think the result speaks for itself. It gives the polish a completely new look – and I absolutely love it. I prefer shimmers to cremes and I can’t wait to try this over… pretty much everything I own.
I actually tried As Gold as it Gets over Turquoise and Caicos first but ended up with the worst bed nails imaginable – I can’t even post the picture. But I’m going to try that look again since it looked amazing… before I went to bed.
Did you pick up any other Luxeffects? Thoughts?Also, if you’d like to see this over another polish just let me know!
Perfect Pair: Essie Go Overboard & OPI Yodel Me On My Cell January 24, 2012
Posted by Alli in Layering.Tags: Essie, Nail Polish, OPI
add a comment
I’m totally in love with Essie Go Overboard. It’s just a perfect yes it’s still winter but I’m dying for spring polish. Anyways, I’ve been wearing it alot lately so I was looking for a way to spice it up. Thanks to my handy dandy new nail polish rack all my OPI polishes were on display. I spotted OPI Yodel Me On My Cell and thought it would be the perfect polish to add some sparkle to Go Overboard!
I used 2 coats of Go Overboard and 1 coat of Yodel. I quite like the way it turned out. Yodel didn’t change the color much but it added just the right amount of sparkle.
Check out the macro shot below the jump!
Essie Lilacism January 22, 2012
Posted by Alli in Essie.Tags: Essie, Nail Polish
5 comments
Despite the fact that Charlotte has yet to have any weather that would classify as winter weather I’m ready for Spring. Once the holidays are over I’m ready to move on! Between my desire for warmer weather and my nails needing a serious break from dark polishes and glitter I was rummaging through my Melmer for a lighter colored polish.
Lilacism is always a polish that catches my eye but not one I wear often. It is from Essie’s Spring 2010 The Art of Spring collection but is now part of the permanent line. I purchased it when the collection was originally released but I’ve only worn it once or twice. I decided it was time to give it another go. It looks gorgeous in the bottle, after all.
Essie describes this polish as a satiny smooth lilac. That’s more or less accurate. This is a blue based lilac with quite a bit of white in it. It lacks the dusty quality of OPI Done Out in Deco and Essie Nice is Nice. I have nothing but good things to say about the color itself, but the formula is an entirely different story.
Application of Lilacism was a headache. The formula is so thin and runny and quite sheer. I used 4 coats (on some nails 5 coats…) before I had an opaque color. You have to be very careful when applying coats to avoid streaks.
Due to the application issues I can’t say I recommend this polish. Yes, the color is gorgeous but it’s alot of work to get the color to look like it does in the bottle.
Essie Go Overboard January 17, 2012
Posted by Alli in Essie.Tags: Essie, Nail Polish
3 comments
At the beginning of this year Essie announced they were adding 8 shades to their permanent lines; 5 from collections released in 2011 and 3 new colors. I wasn’t overly excited about the 5 polishes from previous collections they added. As much as I love Smokin’ Hot, Nina Ultra Pro Never Glum Plum is a cheaper, easily available dupe with a better formula and the rest I am rather neutral on (though Katie really loved Meet Me at Sunset). That being said, I was rather excited about the release of Go Overboard. As soon as I spotted the display I picked it up and I”m glad I did!
Essie describes Go Overboard as a “limitless sea blue.” Well, ok. I guess that works. I’d say something more along the lines of a teal blue creme but that doesn’t sound near as fancy! However it is described, Go Overboard is a GORGEOUS color. As if that wasn’t enough, the formula is also fantastic. It is opaque but not thick. I probably could have gotten away with 2 coats, but I did use 3.
Surprisingly, I don’t have anything that is comparable to Go Overboard in my collection. This falls somewhere between Essie Going Incognito and OPI Ski Teal We Drop.
This is not limited edition so don’t fret if you haven’t found the Go Overboard display in your area yet. It should be popping up very soon.
essie – meet me at sunset January 16, 2012
Posted by Katie in Essie, Finger Paints, Katie, Nail Polish.Tags: 2011, braziliant, bright, Essie, fingerpaints, flake, Orange, special effects, Summer
1 comment so far
I must have had this polish on brain after reading Elle’s post about bright polishes! I was definitely needing some cheerful colors on my nails and so I picked this up at Walgreen’s (along with Eternal Optimist).
Meet me at Sunset was originally released as a part of the Brazilliant collection (Summer 2011). When I put it on I instantly fell in love with it! It fit my need perfectly- bright and cheerful! Though essie’s description calls this “a deep vibrant orange.” However, I think we could initiate a red-orange vs. orange-red debate a la Crayola… Either way, it’s lovely.
Obviously from the bottle, this is the retail not the salon version – and while many of you hate the white logo – I think it’s kind of cute, as long as the glass logos are still there, I’m okay with it.
In my shopping spree, I also picked up 2 polishes from Fingerpaint’s Special Effects collection: Asylum and Twisted. I’ll do a full post on both of them, but wanted to give you a sneak peek of Meet Me at Sunset + Twisted. So gorgeous! It makes me think of dancing flames (and brings to mind The Hunger Games…).
Happy Monday!
Essie – Eternal Optimist January 14, 2012
Posted by Katie in Essie.Tags: 2009, Essie, Julep Maven, pink, Spring
2 comments
Originally from the Spring 2009 collection, I picked up Eternal optimist today while I was on a bit of a beauty shopping bender.
Essie describes this as “a spiced tea rose with a dash of cream.” Works for me! It’s a dusty peach/pink/nude… see this is why I should’ve just stopped with Essie’s description. Anyway – it’s elegant and very flattering with my skin tone. It fits nicely into the “perfect for job interviews” category and I like the name – I need a little more optimism in my life these days.
It’s not a stand out in my collection by any means, but it has it’s place and while I own many, many different shades of pinks – this one is unique for me.
The application was average. It took 3 coats to get full coverage and get rid of any streaks and I topped it off with a coat of Seche Vite.
Hope you have a lovely Saturday!
PS – if you haven’t already, head on over to Julep, take the style quiz (I got American Beauty), and get a Julep Maven box this month for only A PENNY! Use the promo code NEWYEAR2012. I’ve wanted to try Julep polish for a while, but the price for each polish ($14) is a bit much and I really couldn’t justify spending $20 a month for the Maven Box. However, with the promo code you can try it out for $.01. I’m really excited about this and will definitely be posting a full review once I get my box. Also – if you only want to try it for a month (like me – most likely) – you have to call and cancel by January 24th in order to avoid being billed 19.99 for next month’s box.
Katie’s Top 10 of 2011 January 4, 2012
Posted by Katie in butter LONDON, China Glaze, Essie, Katie, L'Oreal, Lex Cosmetics, Nail Polish, OPI, Revlon, SinfulColors.Tags: 2011, butter LONDON, China Glaze, Essie, L'Oreal, Lex Cosmetics, Nail Polish, OPI, Revlon, Sinful Colors, Top 10, wet n wild
add a comment
It feels like I just posted my Top 10 of 2010. Top 10 of 2011, just isn’t as catchy, should I have done my top 11? I felt like every time a new collection came out this year – it didn’t wow me – but going over the last year of posts there are plenty of stand out polishes and it’s been difficult narrowing it down to just 10…
Celeb Nails: Kelly Clarkson December 22, 2011
Posted by Katie in Celeb Nails, Essie, Katie, Revlon.Tags: celeb nails, Essie, French Manicure, Kelly Clarkson, Revlon, Stronger, What Doesn't Kill You
3 comments
When Alli showed me Kelly Clarkson’s latest video: Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) – we immediately focused in on the nails – at first Alli thought they might be magnetic but then we decided they were silver with black tips. Last night I decided to do my take on Kelly’s nails.
My nails aren’t identical, hers seem to be less uniform and I think the silver is darker – but you get the idea. I used Nailene French Tip Guides that I bought ages ago and have never used.
I decided to use Revlon’s Metallic (Top Speed) which is a great silver – for this picture I used only one coat. It reminds me a lot of Celeb City – I then put on a coat of Seche Vite and after I was sure they were dry, I put on the guides and used Essie’s Licorice – my go to black polish – for the tips. I will say if you’re going to recreate this look or use nail guides for any reason – make sure your base is dry – my first try wasn’t so successful.
I think this would be a fun manicure for a night out or even New Years Eve 
What do you think?
Essie Midnight Cami dupe; Rimmel Midnight Blue November 4, 2011
Posted by Alli in Comparison, Essie, Rimmel.Tags: Essie, Nail Polish, Rimmel
3 comments
Midnight Cami is one of my all time favorite nail polishes. It’s the perfect jewel toned not to dark, not to light midnight blue with blue shimmer. For one reason or another when I initially wore Rimmel Midnight Blue it didn’t immediately register that it may be a dupe for Midnight Cami, but when I was looking through the blue drawer in my Melmler the other day I realized they looked quite similar. Turns out, they are dupes.
Despite the fact that these two polishes on the nail look exactly the same, the formulas are quite different. Of the two, I prefer the Rimmel formula. It’s a tad bit thicker and doesn’t have the drag problem that the Essie formula has. Additionally, when removing these two polishes, the Essie stains much easier than the Rimmel. They were similar in wear time.
I love it when the cheaper option turns out to be the better option!
There’s another comparison picture below the jump taken in the shade
Trick or Treat: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear – Pumpkin Spice October 30, 2011
Posted by Katie in Sally Hansen.Tags: 2011, Essie, Glitter, halloween, Orange, Sally Hansen, Xtreme Wear
add a comment
It’s almost Halloween! Even if you have already been to some Halloween festivities and have to return to the daily grind tomorrow like I do – you can still show off your holiday spirit with some festive nail looks.
After wearing the Salon Effects Ghoulie Girl for a week I was reading for a change – (by the way – Ghoulie Girl wore fantastically – I lasted 6 days and only had one teeny chip on the last day). So I present to you my Halloween nail look for this year. Pumpkin Spice is a great layering polish – I only tested it on it’s own once and knew the sheerness would irritate me – so I saved myself the trouble and put it on top of essie’s Licorice – which is my go to black polish.
The glitter distributes very evenly – I put on 2 coats of Licorice and 2 coats of Pumpkin Spice for this picture. If you can still find it – definitely pick it up. It’s a look I like a million times better than Hard Candy’s Mischief (Dupe of China Glaze’s Ick-a-Body) – which is just too much orange glitter for my liking.
A few other looks I’m loving: Cristina‘s Water Marble, Salon Effects in WishNets, and Brooke’s Candy Corn nails.
Happy Halloween (Eve!)
